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AI Romance, Sperm-Stealing Salamanders, and Curious Whale Bubbles
Manage episode 489266875 series 2298733
Ever caught someone on public transport having what looks like an intimate text conversation, only to realise they're sweet-talking an AI?
Welcome to modern romance, where your biggest relationship competition isn't another human - it's a chatbot with perfect grammar and infinite patience.
But that's just the beginning of today's journey through science's weirdest discoveries. We're exploring how Russian royalty accidentally invented the cure for sin (spoiler: it involves screaming and defying gravity), and why whales might be desperately trying to get our attention through elaborate underwater art displays.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:05 Physics Against Satan
01:56 The Origin of Rollercoasters
04:22 Rollercoasters in America
12:27 AI and Human Emotions
20:57 The Psychology of Addictive Technologies
21:21 The Impact of Media on Vulnerable Individuals
23:27 The Unisexual Mole Salamander
24:24 Kleptogenesis: A Unique Reproductive Strategy
31:20 Whale Watching Adventures
31:57 Humpback Whales and Their Bubble Blowing Behavior
34:34 Whale Communication with Humans
SOURCES:
14 Fun Facts About Roller Coasters https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/14-fun-facts-about-roller-coasters-180972920/
The American rollercoaster was invented to save people from Satan
https://www.unilad.com/community/american-rollercoaster-satan-20221021
BBC wildlife May 2025 FEMALE OF THE SPECIES- A self-replicating sisterhood of salamander gene thieves
https://www.livescience.com/59639-salamanders-steal-genes.html
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
383 episodes
Manage episode 489266875 series 2298733
Ever caught someone on public transport having what looks like an intimate text conversation, only to realise they're sweet-talking an AI?
Welcome to modern romance, where your biggest relationship competition isn't another human - it's a chatbot with perfect grammar and infinite patience.
But that's just the beginning of today's journey through science's weirdest discoveries. We're exploring how Russian royalty accidentally invented the cure for sin (spoiler: it involves screaming and defying gravity), and why whales might be desperately trying to get our attention through elaborate underwater art displays.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Introduction
01:05 Physics Against Satan
01:56 The Origin of Rollercoasters
04:22 Rollercoasters in America
12:27 AI and Human Emotions
20:57 The Psychology of Addictive Technologies
21:21 The Impact of Media on Vulnerable Individuals
23:27 The Unisexual Mole Salamander
24:24 Kleptogenesis: A Unique Reproductive Strategy
31:20 Whale Watching Adventures
31:57 Humpback Whales and Their Bubble Blowing Behavior
34:34 Whale Communication with Humans
SOURCES:
14 Fun Facts About Roller Coasters https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/14-fun-facts-about-roller-coasters-180972920/
The American rollercoaster was invented to save people from Satan
https://www.unilad.com/community/american-rollercoaster-satan-20221021
BBC wildlife May 2025 FEMALE OF THE SPECIES- A self-replicating sisterhood of salamander gene thieves
https://www.livescience.com/59639-salamanders-steal-genes.html
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
383 episodes
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